Children's museum planned for Moses Lake
Makiya Kast, 5, gets down on all fours to crawl through a play area at the Moses Lake Children's Museum and Science Center, which is expected to open in September. Her grandmother, Kathy Kast, is the museum's executive director.
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Children’s Museum and Science Center is set to open at the end of September at 306 Beech St., in Moses Lake,
MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Children's Museum and Science Center is set to open at the end of September at 306 Beech St., in Moses Lake,
The public is invited to a meeting at 7 p.m., today, at the museum, to learn more about volunteering, membership and to discuss more ideas for the facility.
The museum is forming a parent board and a fund-raising board, said Kathy Kast, the museum's executive director, on Tuesday.
Sponsors are also needed to further exhibit work. The museum is open to new ideas on developing existing exhibits.
Donors benefit by being listed on the museum's donor wall and on plaques showing the names of exhibit donors.
Start-up funds for the museum came from the sale of the nonprofit Home Healthcare and Hospice last year, of which Kast is a former board member.
"We really felt it was important to reinvest that money into a community project," she explained. "We're hoping this will help downtown businesses. We're next to the aquatic park and easy to get to."
The museum is located at the site of the former Adventure Park in downtown Moses Lake. Before that, the building was used as a movie theater.
Some work has been completed to transform the 15,000 square-foot building into a museum, which also has a wheelchair lift.
There's now a space-themed play area with tunnels and a slide located on the main level. Nearby, there's a second play area for crawling babies, featuring a mirror, a small soft pyramid with pieces to grab and a steering wheel.
Inside the former theater area, large painted murals of the Columbia Basin cover the walls, showing sand dunes, the Columbia River, mountains and the Columbia Gorge. That room is also used for a town square showcasing local businesses.
Participating businesses currently include Key Bank and Grocery Outlet. Through those businesses, kids learn how to deposit money at a play ATM and to shop and buy groceries at a faux cash register.
Pet Town USA provided a fish pond that holds eight koi.
The City of Tacoma donated a fire truck and Grant County Fire District 5 will restore it.
An agricultural area lines the other side of the main floor, on the opposite side of the town square.
Milky Way Transport donated funds to pay for a life-sized milk cow and John Deere provided a tractor.
Furniture West provided children's chairs.
Upstairs, there are plans to start a pre-school program, which would be run by Kast, a former daycare owner and the museum's executive director.
The upstairs features a large arts and crafts area, computer lab and reading center.
A collection of antique dolls donated by Bargain Town will be displayed.
A seating area for adults overlooks the town square and agriculture area below.
To generate funds, the museum wants to rent parts of the facility for after hours parties, birthday parties and other occasions.
Memberships are another way the museum sustains itself and are now available for purchase.
For more information about volunteering before opening and during operating hours, board membership, donations, museum memberships or sponsorships, call 509-764-5263.